jkrueger

But smoke free now that Muffy quit Actually, I was referring to my family of origin... Oh, and I like Nicole Kidman, too!

I watched The Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood this weekend and found it had much to say about love, life, and relationships. Perhaps some things in there were too close to home, but I felt myself moved (though not to tears) and able to view things through a shared perspective - I am not the only one in this world who comes from a severly dysfunctional, alcoholic, and emotionally abusive home, and it is all too easy to reflect only on the bad that has been done. Yet, through it all, there is still hope in the world. And I actually happen to like Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan.

Glad everybody was cool and you guys got to keep your gear! It's too bad that the situation has been abused and a zero-tolerance policy has developed. I would like to think that taking full responsibility for your actions and being civil left the ranger with the perception that not all climbers are evil, selfish, and destructive. And may your good karma significantly reduce your fines!

At least the weather is consistent at the gym...

I'm sure you two will have lots to talk about...

Public Announcement I hereby decree that I will no longer take personal offense to anything posted in the public forum either to Muffy, or by Muffy, of a sexual or perverted nature. Muffy is hereby released from her shackles and is free to speak in any manner she chooses. Love her or hate her, but that's who she is - so be it! Now please, go spray some wankers and stop with this incessant whining already! [ jk ]

Past tense - over that one.

OK, it was kinda clever. But it still pissed me off. Having a PM posted publicly on this board was lame! At least my warning to beware the sexual perverts around here was spread far and wide, so it wasn't all bad.

Yeah, the Amber Incident was totally lame, and I was pissed, but it opened my eyes to the possibilities for abuse...

What, you don't believe Tim's privacy topics from earlier today? After the Amber Incident, I just considered them Public Messages anyway...

I don't know, but I like the looks of that approach!

What's important is that you can place gear and clip with either hand.

Hypocrisy? Here? You surely must be mistaken... (Oh, and I would say pagetop here, but the snaffle ate it... using the European method I do believe...)

I've heard the same thing -- ascenders and lead soloing do not mix! If I wanted to lead solo I would shell out the dough for a fancy device built specifically for that purpose (Soloist or Silent Partner). I have led solo aid using clove hitches, but I don't know if it's possible to lead solo like that; and even if it's possible, I don't know that I would...

Nice tips Dru! Glad to learn from your experience instead of finding myself in an ugly situation, stuck in the middle of a climb, unable to move up or down...

If you were considering lead soloing (which you said you weren't) then the Silent Partner would make a fine choice. But for TR soloing, I think that thing is overkill (not to mention expensive)! If you don't want teeth that may damage the rope, then the Soloist or Ushba would probably do it for you. From what I've seen, the Ushba seems the less complicated of the two and feeds smoother.

I just use a BD basic ascender for TR soloing. It feeds smoothly, as I never have to manually feed rope as I have seen others do. It's caught all my falls, so I've developed trust in it. And it's quick and easy to setup. It was also relatively cheap! I've never used a chest harness with it, but then again I don't do too much extreme solo TR climbing either... TR solo climbing is the shit when you have somewhere that's easy to set a TR and want to get some routes in!

~

Nice to hear a TR out of you that didn't turn into an epic! And in keeping with true Texplorer style, it seems you added a little spice just to keep things interesting... Next time the UV is high you might consider breathing through a snorkel.

I would have been more surprised if he hadn't said it...

Ah, back to the low road. Couldn't resist, could you?

When does anyone here ever take the high road? That must be a first!!!

It would be really scary if he could read the writing on the ring, speak it in native tongue, and locate the ring's place of origin on a map.

Perhaps he is Satan and his flame burns from within?

That would be insane! I just watched The Perfect Storm again and remembered that big storm waves scare me. Hell, calm seas are enough to make me sick! Erden, you are a brave man... travel safe!